Neue Spielräume - Anti-war movement in Russia: fighting despite all odds

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was preceded by a wave of domestic repression that completely crushed all remaining independent political organizations (most notably, Alexei Navalny's movement). Nevertheless, tens of thousands of people marched in the streets during the first weeks of the war. Since then, a de facto martial law was instituted in Russia, more than 16,000 people were detained and more than 2,000 cases of "discrediting the armed forced" were opened. Nevertheless, anti-war activities continue despite being less visible due to overwhelming repression, and multiple anti-war groups and publications spring up abroad. The presentation will cover the state of Russia's anti-war movement today and opportunities for practical solidarity with it.

 

Ilya Matveev is a political scientist focusing on the Russian political economy. His academic work has appeared in Europe-Asia Studies, East European Politics, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Socialist Register, South Atlantic Quarterly and other journals. He is a member of the editorial collective of Posle.media, a new bi-lingual Russian-English anti-war platform, and a co-host of the Political Diary, a Russian-language podcast on politics.